SONE ALUKO admits he will feel sympathy for his friend George Boyd if Hull relegate Burnley today – but he is aware that the boot could well be on the other foot.
To have any chance of survival, Burnley must take maximum points from their final three matches, starting at the KC Stadium.
Boyd, 29, moved to Turf Moor at the start of the season after 18 months with Hull and Aluko is on good terms with the Scotland winger.
Hull, however, have their own problems.
They are a point above the bottom three and, with Tottenham and Manchester United next on the agenda, victory today could prove vital.
“You never want to see friends get relegated but if it’s him or me, it’s got to be him,” said Aluko. “He’s a good lad and a good team-mate to have. He’s a good player as well.
“If Burnley do go down it will be sad to see a friend relegated but that’s football. I’m sure he will bounce back.”
Hull manager Steve Bruce said the decision to sell Boyd was difficult when Burnley came calling with the offer £3m for the club and regular first-team football for the player.
“I didn’t want to sell him but out of respect for him I gave him the option,” said Bruce. “He wanted to play. I’ve got nothing but the utmost respect for people who want to play.
“Some would rather play in the Championship than sit on the bench in the Premier Leagueand I understand that.”
Bruce will have to decide whether to start eight-goal top-scorer Nikica Jelavic against Burnley after the former Croatian forward made his first appearance since March in Monday’s 3-1 defeat by Arsenal.
But Burnley know the task ahead and Michael Duff insists they are a different proposition from the side relegated from the Premier League five years ago as they battle to avoid a similar fate.
Matches against Stoke and Aston Villa follow and their win-or-bust scenario makes them odds-on to repeat the one-season stay they enjoyed in the top-flight in 2009/10 when they went down under Brian Laws.
The appointment of the former Burnley defender was a gamble that did not work after Owen Coyle had quit Turf Moor to take over at Bolton with four seasons to go.
Sone Aluko is battling to stay in the Premier League with Hull
Sean Dyche is the man battling to avoid a repeat but defender Duff says the set-up under him means the Clarets – with only one win in 14 games and without a goal in a club record nine-and-a-half hours – will not give up until it is mathematically impossible to beat the drop.
Duff, 37, cleared to play today after the red card his received at West Ham a week ago was overturned on appeal, said: “It’s completely different. Last time when Owen Coyle left in the January it ripped the heart out of the club because he had everyone buying into the way that he wanted to play.
“For him to walk out killed us really. It didn’t really matter who came in because it was going to be a tough job.
“This year everyone has bought in to what the manager wants and the way he wants us to play.
“It’s a really tight knit group and that’s been the same since the start of the Championship last year. That belief has remained rock solid. Surviving is seen as highly unlikely but while there’s a chance, we still believe we can get out of it.”
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